Gaia vs MrWork: which recruitment platform delivers performance?

Gaia vs MrWork: why compare them

As more hiring teams look to move beyond job boards, the comparison of “Gaia vs MrWork” is increasingly relevant. While both platforms aim to improve talent attraction, they serve very different use cases. Gaia is built for cross-channel performance marketing, while MrWork positions itself as a direct engagement engine. Here’s how they compare side-by-side.

What MrWork offers

MrWork is a Netherlands-based recruitment platform that focuses on proactive candidate outreach, primarily via SMS and email. Its platform helps employers build talent pools, segment them, and then deliver short, branded messages to drive interest in roles.

This SMS-first approach offers speed and immediacy. Recruiters can personalise messages and send them directly to warm leads in their pipeline. MrWork’s strengths lie in reactivating dormant candidates and speeding up communication, which is useful for fast-paced, high-volume environments.

However, it relies heavily on the size and quality of your existing talent pool. Campaigns are typically manual, and channel reach is limited. There’s no programmatic optimisation or use of wider web or social media platforms to discover new audiences.

How Gaia stacks up

Gaia’s focus is broader and deeper: it uses 1 billion hiring data points to power intelligent targeting across the full digital funnel. Rather than relying on SMS outreach alone, Gaia connects with candidates across the channels they already use, including Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Reddit, TikTok, YouTube, X and more.

Its AI learns which audiences engage, where they drop off, and how to improve conversion. Campaigns continuously optimise based on real-time performance not just rules, so your ads are always positioned where top candidates will notice them (see our tips in the guide to getting job ads seen by top candidates). Candidates experience a seamless, branded mobile-first application journey that completes in 45 seconds.

You can build and launch campaigns directly in Gaia, with performance tracked in a live dashboard. All data integrates with your existing systems through 50+ ATS integrations. Choose GaiaSelf-Serve or the fully managed GaiaComplete experience, and switch any time.

What customers say about Gaia

Gaia customers frequently comment on its reach, control and results:

“We went from zero applicants to thousands in a matter of days. The ability to optimise in real time across multiple channels has completely changed how we hire.” 

Gaia case study: Babcock

Organisations that outgrew MrWork’s SMS-only model often switch to Gaia for its smarter targeting and full-funnel analytics.

Feature comparison table: Gaia vs MrWork

Feature / Capability MrWork Gaia
AI-powered targeting ⚠️ AI supported; training detail unclear ✅ Learns from 1 billion data points
Omnichannel reach ⚠️ Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Snapchat, Google ✅ Google, Meta, TikTok, Reddit, LinkedIn, YouTube, X, Pinterest, Snapchat
Programmatic optimisation ⚠️ Budget rules only ✅ Live AI optimisation across channels
Cookie‑free retargeting ❌ Not available ✅ Privacy‑safe, first‑party retargeting
Self‑Serve & Managed ⚠️ Semi‑managed dashboard ✅ Self‑serve (GaiaSelfServe) or fully managed (GaiaComplete)
Job pages & employer branding ✅ Brand‑led journeys ✅ Fast‑loading, branded, mobile‑first pages
Automated campaign launch ⚠️ Semi‑automated; unclear launches ✅ Live in minutes from platform
ATS integration ✅ Multiple ATSs ✅ 50+ ATS integrations, 2‑way sync + XML
Analytics & insights ⚠️ Reports offered ✅ Real‑time dashboard & analytics
Candidate experience (CX) ✅ Employer branding improves CX ✅ 45s mobile‑first apply
Data & machine learning ⚠️ Claims AI; no detail ✅ 8+ yrs ML, 1B+ hiring data points

Who is Gaia best for?

MrWork suits organisations that already have a strong pipeline and need to re-engage candidates quickly via SMS.

Gaia is a better choice if you:

  • Need to attract new candidates, not just re-market to existing ones
  • Want performance visibility across the whole hiring funnel
  • Are seeking flexible campaign control with smart optimisation
  • Care about apply rates and mobile UX

Final word: Gaia vs MrWork

MrWork built a reputation for fast, direct candidate contact. But in a world of fragmented attention and declining response rates, that’s no longer enough.

Gaia provides intelligent reach, real-time insight and measurable results, all backed by data and automation. Whether you’re scaling quickly or want more ROI from every job, Gaia delivers.

Explore what smarter recruitment marketing looks like: book a demo.

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